By Eric Olson
Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb ó The locals who have grown accustomed to watching Texas at the College World Series year in and year out don’t know whether to greet the Longhorns with “Howdy, stranger,” or “Welcome back.”
With a cast lacking the star power of past Texas squads, the Longhorns are in Omaha for a record 33rd time but the first time in four years.
No current Longhorn has played on Division I baseball’s biggest stage but, as the top seed, Texas is favored on paper to win its seventh national title. The ‘Horns will go against a field that features 2008 CWS qualifiers North Carolina and LSU and first-timers Virginia and Southern Mississippi.
Today’s Bracket 2 first-round games pit No. 5 Arizona State (49-12) and No. 4 North Carolina (47-16) in the afternoon and Southern Miss (40-24) against Texas (46-14-1) at night.
Winners emerging from double-elimination bracket play meet in the best-of-three finals starting June 22.
Texas will try to become the first No. 1 seed to win the CWS since Miami in 1999.
Like the past two champions, Fresno State and Oregon State, the Longhorns’ roster is short on high draft picks and All-Americans.
The Longhorns aren’t like those college baseball powers of yesteryear that put up huge numbers. They come in ranked 196th out of 288 teams in home runs (39), 208th in batting (.287) and 216th in scoring (6.0). Maybe their most impressive offensive stat is their nation-leading 96 sacrifice bunts.
But these boys can pitch and field.
The Longhorns are first nationally in fewest hits allowed (7.3 per game), second in ERA (2.84), fourth in fielding (.979) and ninth in walks allowed (2.63).
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North Carolina, the first team to make four consecutive trips to Omaha since Stanford appeared in five from 1999 to 2003, features the No. 2 overall draft pick in first baseman Dustin Ackley (Seattle). Ackley is the marquee player for the Tar Heels, with his 22 homers and .412 average.
Four other starters are batting better than .300.
North Carolina can pitch a little, too, averaging more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings. And the Tar Heels have CWS-tested pitchers in Adam Warren (9-2) and Alex White (8-4).